Baseball Star Helps Kids

When 5th graders asked Major League Baseball player Ozzie Albies which pet fish to get, he helped out in a big way.

When he’s not playing baseball, Ozzie Albies is caring for his pet fish.

Fans of Major League Baseball star Ozzie Albies know that Albies loves fish. Albies, who plays second base for the Atlanta Braves, has a massive 6,000-gallon (23,000-liter) fish tank at his home! So when 5th graders in Marietta, Georgia, wanted to set up a fish tank of their own, they asked Albies for advice. Albies decided to go a step further—he visited the class and brought a generous gift.

It all started when students at Lockheed Elementary School wrote letters to Albies, asking him what kind of fish they should have in their classroom. Albies could have just answered their question. Instead, he contacted a company that helps him with his fish tank and told them he wanted to purchase a tank for the Lockheed classroom.

“After that, I knew [the students] wanted a goldfish,” he explained to MLB.com. “I could have easily gone to Petco or a fish store to get one. But because I had some that had been born in my house, I was like, let me just donate my fish to the school. I knew that would be more special for them.”

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Then it was time to make the fish tank extra special.

“I was sitting at home the night before and I was thinking, ‘What decorations should I put in the tank?’” Albies said. “I said, ‘Let’s go buy some SpongeBob decorations for the fish tank.”

Albies visited the classroom on February 6 with the tank, the equipment, the decorations—and, of course, the goldfish. He stayed to show the students how to set up the tank and care for their new class pet.

“It was an opportunity to do something I love in front of the kids, and I took full advantage,” he said. “I was like, ‘I’m all in.’”

Did You Know?

Ozzie Albies told the Lockheed 5th graders that their new pet will need a bigger tank in a few years.

How big can a goldfish get? It depends on its environment and the food it eats. A well-fed, well-cared-for goldfish can grow to more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) long!

Scientists Discover a Horned Dinosaur

Artwork by Dani Navarro (ArtDNG.com/@playerDNG)

Spinosaurus mirabilis waded through rivers to catch fish.

Scientists have discovered a new species of dinosaur that had a colorful horn, or crest, on the top of its head. They’ve named the species Spinosaurus mirabilis.

Spinosaurus mirabilis fossils were discovered in 2019 and 2022 in what’s now the Sahara Desert, in the African country of Niger. About 95 million years ago, when Spinosaurus mirabilis roamed the area, it wasn’t dry and sandy like it is today. It may have been covered by forest, with rivers cutting through the land.

Scientists believe that Spinosaurus mirabilis ate large fish, but it probably didn’t swim very well. It likely caught its meals by wading through rivers.

Photograph by Keith Ladzinski (paulsereno.uchicago.edu/@paulserenoofficial )

Paleontologist (scientist who studies fossils) Paul Sereno poses with a skull cast of Spinosaurus mirabilis.

Terrible Lizards

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A new dinosaur species is discovered about once every week or two! You can learn more about these “terrible lizards” at Britannica!

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